Niki's Challenge (16 page)

Taking a deep breath, she looked at
each person at the table. “It’s done. Tony was the man that night
at the hotel. He’s the father of my twins and we’re trying to work
things out, get to know one another. We can have blood tests after
the babies arrive if you want,” she told him.

“
No, I’m good.” Tony pushed
back from the table. “I know what happened that night.” Hearing her
talk about losing her parents to a drunk driver, he understood a
lot better her reluctance to deal with him. It made him more
determined to let her get to know the real him. Niki and her family
were the types that had to be shown, not told, and he was
definitely up for the challenge. He’d begin tonight.

Chapter 12

Entering Tony’s kitchen through the
garage, Niki reached for the take home box holding a slice of pie
from the restaurant. Teasing, he hid it behind his back, smiling at
her pouting lips.

“
Kiss me,” he said. Leaning
forward, their lips touched and reignited his hunger. He placed the
bag holding the box on the counter and held her face between his
palms.

“
Sweet.” Pausing to
breathe, he rested his forehead against her. “I’ve wanted to do
that all night.”

“
Yeah? I’m sure that
would’ve calmed Nana down.” She chuckled and took the bag off the
counter. “Where are your spoons?” Tony grabbed one from the drawer
and handed it to her.

“
Is it going to be a
problem?” Brow raised in question, she glanced at him. “Her not
liking me, I mean.” He leaned against the counter and watched her
sit at the counter height table in the kitchen. After taking a bite
of her dessert, she looked at him.

“
Not for me. You won’t be
so lucky.” They stared at each other. “Ready to change your mind?”
Niki asked before she scooped another piece of pie in her
mouth.

“
About?” He widened his
stance and crossed his arms.

“
About being a part of my
children’s family. My grandmothers are not going away, and they’re
still pissed about what happened.”

“
I picked up on that.” Even
after the dinner was over, the older woman said little to him and
rebuffed his effort of conversation. He looked at her. “Will that
stop
you
from
liking me?” His lips lifted at the corner while he devoured her
pie-filled mouth with his eyes.

She smiled a wicked grin and licked
her spoon, curling the tip of her tongue around the base. His cock
jumped in his pants. “Not at all.” The husky timbre in her voice
sent a shaft of heat through him. It teased and tempted him to lose
his inhibitions and take her right then.

Releasing his breath, he moved and
stood closer to her seat. His palms held onto the table on each
side of her, bracketing her between his arms.

“
You have no idea how happy
that makes me.” Large brown eyes roved down his frame. His heart
thumped madly in his chest at the intimate perusal. Blood raced to
his erection; it hardened instantly and pushed uncomfortably
against his pants.

“
I might.” Niki licked her
lips. His eyes followed her pink tongue’s slow journey until it
returned to her mouth.

“
Do that again,” he
whispered.

She placed the spoon on the counter,
leaned toward his face and stuck her tongue between her lips. He
captured her sweetness with his mouth. Moaning, he pulled her face
closer while tasting the sweet cream from her pie. Her hands
latched onto his shoulders, she pulled him tight making mewling
noises in the back of her throat. He bent, placed his arm beneath
her leg and lifted her from the chair without releasing her
lips.

Striding down the hall, he reached his
room and kicked the door open with his foot. A moment later he laid
her on his mattress and followed her down. For a moment he stared
in wonder at her presence in his bed, in his life. She pulled him
down, attacking his lips and holding him tight. Memories of holding
her swamped him. His desire escalated, as he tasted her mouth, her
skin and her tight nipples. Within minutes, she lay bare before
him.

“
I want you,” she whispered
in his ear. Her tongue laved and nipped everything in its wake. He
shivered at the need in her voice.

“
You’ve got me for as long
as you want.” He stood and undressed as she watched with a sexy
smile curving her lips. His hand touched her thigh as hunger for
her flavor beat him. With a high school kid’s eagerness, he crawled
between her legs and zeroed in on his feast. “Hungry.” That was all
he said before his mouth latched onto her sweetness.

Niki couldn’t believe the sensations
shooting through her as Tony lavished his attention between her
legs. She bucked and rolled against his mouth, trying to pull him
in closer. Her hands brushed against his hair, but her protruding
stomach stopped her from getting the good grip she wanted. Her hips
lifted as fingers penetrated her, sending spirals of delicious
tingles to her core.

“
Ohimigod, yes.” She humped
his hand faster. Her womb clenched. He pumped and sucked harder.
She arched and fragmented. Her body shuddered as waves of orgasmic
bliss saturated her body. Limp, she rolled to the side to breathe
more air.

“
So good, Tony,” she moaned
as he stroked her hair back from her face and placed kisses on her
collarbone.

“
I’m glad.” Spooned behind
her, his hand went between her legs, lifted one over his thigh as
he snuggled closer. “One more thing. I need to feel you.” At some
point he’d nudged his mushroomed tip at her opening. She lifted her
leg higher, hot to feel him inside her again.

His thickness stretched her walls as
he inched forward from behind. Her breath hitched as he continued
his slow penetration. Sweat rolled across her face in anticipation.
Her nipples hardened and ached at the infilling.

“
Damn, you’re incredible,”
He whispered near her ear. “So tight, so hot. I’m on fire.” He held
them both still once he was seated fully inside her. Memories of
their last meeting slapped the realms of her reality. This time she
was wide awake, feeling the invasion of his long thick cock. No
wonder she hadn’t been able to remove his loving from her mind.
Even her subconscious recognized the delicious feeling of being
taken by him. She rolled her hips, anxious for more
friction.

“
Move, please.”

“
Hell, yeah.” He pulled
out, she moved with him, creating a new rhythm. Her heart raced as
his hips flexed and slammed forward, meeting her silent demand to
take her to another level. She met his thrusts and kept pace with
his rising ardor.

“
More.” She didn’t
recognize the needy voice torn from her throat. Her hips pushed
back to receive more of his hard goodness. His hips pumped steadily
into her slippery channel. Grunts of pleasure competed with wet
sucking sounds through the room.

“
So good, so good,” he
breathed against her neck as he thrust faster. She tensed as her
release built. Her toes curled as the intense feeling unfurled and
blossomed inside. She screamed her release as her womb throbbed,
milking his cock.

A few thrusts later Tony held her
tight, froze and yelled his release. They lay shaking in the
aftermath.

“
It was better this time,”
she whispered, her eyes growing heavy.

“
You remember?” He sounded
surprised. She snuggled backward into his warmth and stroked his
arm.

“
I remembered it was good.
This time I know why.” He kissed her shoulder.

“
I never forgot. You’re
better than good, baby.”

Chapter 13

“
Thanks for the temporary
ID’s,” Tony said to Rissa’s mom as he and Niki walked through the
airport. “It’s nice being able to walk Nicole to the gate, see her
off. I appreciate it.” He squeezed Niki’s hand, before kissing the
back of it. Within the past two days, they’d worked out some ground
rules concerning the babies. He looked forward to his first
doctor’s visit with her next week.

“
No problem. Ahmed owns a
few companies out here and got them for me.” She walked with Niki’s
Nana on the other side of him. Niki’s older relative had little to
say to him. She wasn’t mean or disrespectful. She just ignored him.
After the last blow-out at dinner, he was okay with her
silence.

“
Hungry?” He looked at
Niki. She nodded and pulled him by the hand in the opposite
direction.

“
Nana, I’m going to get a
Cinnabon. You want one?” They stopped and waited for her to
respond.

“
No, thank you. Just a cup
of coffee.”

“
I’d like one,” her Aunt
Sharita said as they walked off.

“
I’m going to miss you.”
Tony wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against
his front. His chin rested on the top of her head.

“
Sure you will. I bet
you’ll be so busy catching up— “

“
Well, hello, Tony.” The
nasal tone irritated his ears. He sighed against Niki’s hair before
slanting his eyes at the last person he wanted to see.

“
Mason.” His dry tone made
it apparent he had no interest in conversing with the man. Niki
giggled and tried to move forward in the line. Holding tight, in a
synchronized move they stepped up. He squeezed her hand, wondering
if Frederico’s plan to trap Mason had taken effect. He’d been so
busy dealing with Nicole, he hadn’t listened to his voice messages
from his security chief.

“
I don’t believe I know
you.” Niki stared at the outstretched hand before taking it
briefly.

“
I’m Niki.” She took her
hand back and walked to the counter, placing her order.

Tony smiled at Mason’s quick frown.
“Why are you standing here pretending we’re friends, associates or
anything remotely close? You know I can’t stand to be in the same
room as you.”

Mason shrunk back from the harsh words
before realizing he’d done so and how it looked. Tony watched
impassively as the man’s face reddened and knew he’d do or say
something foolish. Something that’d make Tony put his foot up his
flat ass. “Really? I didn’t realize you had such strong feelings
about me either way.” He twittered at Tony’s silent glare. “I’m
surprised you noticed me at all.” He looked Tony up and down,
backing up when Tony let loose a growl.

“
So animalistic.” He
gushed. His insincere words didn’t hide the tightening around his
eyes and mouth. Tony’s words had pissed him off. “Tell me, does the
little lady know what you’re really like?”

“
Yeah, I know.” Niki said
walking up to them. She took Tony’s hand and stared down the
intruder. “He’s damn good at what he does.” Mason stared down his
long nose at her, nostrils flaring.

“
I guess he is.” He
sniffed. “We need to talk, there's some new things going down and I
know you want the latest four-one-one. Call me and I'll bring you
up to speed. Otherwise...” He shrugged and walked off. Niki and
Tony looked at each other and laughed as Mason moved quickly
through the crowd.

“
He likes you,” Niki said
as they headed back to the gate with her sweets. Tony’s head
whipped around.

“
What?” He wasn’t sure he
understood her comment.

“
You heard me, he likes
you.” She squinted up at him. “Like a man likes a woman. That’s how
he likes you.” He shook his head in denial. “Yeah, he
does.”

“
He’s a thief.”

“
What?” She stopped and
looked at him.

“
They’ve never been able to
prove it, but he steals and sells artifacts to private collectors.
There’s a huge market for that.” She nodded as they moved
forward.

“
He still wants you. He’d
take your artifacts as well, I guess. But watch your back,
literally, with him.”

Tony stared down at her. “I want you.
And you can watch my back anytime, all the time, or at the same
time.” He bent and kissed her.

****

“
Talk to me,” Anthony said
to Frederico, who stood in his office. Niki’s comments regarding
Mason gave him pause. The man called him a few times a year and
went out of his way to aggravate him. Tony wanted to end this dance
so he could work with his artifacts without the threat of Mason
getting wind of his discovery.

“
Nothing was found when
your office was swept for bugs. We discovered a few at the plant
and took care of them.” Tony nodded. That was nothing new. Everyone
spied on everyone in this business despite heightened security
measures. That was one of the reasons he kept his private
collection separate and under serious lockdown. No one knew its
location and codes but him.

“
For a middle man, Mason
sure has some sophisticated security.” Frederico handed him a file.
“I had to call in Emory to breach it.” Tony leaned back in his
chair, impressed. Emory had worked for the government and could
crack anything. He came at a high price tag, but always delivered.
Thanks to a longstanding friendship with Tony’s dad he was able to
have an inside track for the man’s services.

“
What’d he
find?”